The present disclosure is generally related to operation and management of document processing devices such as printers, scanners, copiers, combination scanner-printer-copier machines, and the like in accordance with customer accounts.
The disclosures of the following U.S. Patents and Patent Applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/364,224, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING PROOF OF PAYMENT FOR “PAY-AS-YOU-GO” MULTI-FUNCTION DEVICES”, and filed Feb. 2, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/424,820, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING CONTRACT-FREE ‘PAY-AS-YOU-GO’ OPTIONS FOR UTILIZATION OF MULTI-FUNCTION DEVICES”, and filed Apr. 16, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/424,858, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVELY CONTROLLING THE USE OF FUNCTIONALITY IN ONE OR MORE MULTIFUNCTION DEVICES AND SUBSIDIZING THEIR USE THROUGH ADVERTISEMENTS”, and filed Apr. 16, 2009; U.S. Pat. No. 6,940,613, entitled “SYSTEM FOR MANAGING REPLACEABLE MODULES IN A DIGITAL PRINTING APPARATUS”, and issued Sep. 6, 2005; U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,076, entitled “PREPAID PRINT CARD SYSTEM AND METHOD”, and issued Jun. 13, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,999, entitled “FORMS AUTOMATION SYSTEM”, and issued Oct. 8, 1996; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0094148, entitled “METHOD OF LICENSING FUNCTIONALITY AFTER INITIAL TRANSACTION”, and published Apr. 26, 2007; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0125397, entitled “LICENSING METHOD FOR USE WITH AN IMAGING DEVICE”, and published Jul. 1, 2004; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0153415, entitled “METHOD OF LICENSING FUNCTIONALITY AFTER INITIAL TRANSACTION”, and published Aug. 5, 2004.
Document processing devices are often employed in networked systems in business and academic sites providing users the option of sending a given print job to one of several devices for processing. Organizations employing multiple document processing devices desire options for financing and tracking printer utilization, and may prefer to pay for print services and related devices and materials based on usage rather than paying up front for equipment and consumable accessories. Moreover, manufacturers and resellers of document processing devices desire the ability to provide such account options to end-users. Thus, there is a need for improved methods and systems for managing document processing device usage.